To The Purple Rocks

At the Trollskull Manor, the group continues to debate the merits of different courses of action. They are being pulled in many directions. Overall, though they feel the need to obtain access to the vault below Waterdeep before the demons do.

Lady Brandarth's Journey

They have two of the threes necessary to open the vault. The one they are missing was apparently given to Lady Brandarth, the wife of Lord Neverember. Eda decides to research the history of Waterdeep and Lord Neverember, so she heads off to the library. There she discovers that Lord Neverember, had his wife sent over seas headed to Tuern. The purpose of the journey was never stated but she never arrived. Rumors had it that the ship she was on, the Bayntun was last seen near the string of small islands, the Purple Rocks. Eda heads back to the manor, armed with this new information.

New Members and Training a Small Army

Back in the manor, members come and go including a pair of odd friends. Maggot-Brain, a goblin along with his friend, Fibblestib, an elf/gnome. They have made themselves comfortable and have signed on to whatever mission the manor has in store for them. While Fritz and Angel set out to craft their own Iron Golem using the Manual Of Golems they have newly acquired. But this is Waterdeep, so they head off to the Administrative Building, just to make sure they have the proper permits. A day later, they return with a massive stack of permits and forms.

In the meantime, Azula has taken it upon herself to try and train the young urchin collective, calling themselves the Trollskull Gang. Some of them quickly take to the training, while others are not as adept at it. Under Azula's punishing training, a few of them rebel and retreat back to the storehouse. Many of them continue to train on their own under the tutelage of Avlel, a small Eluskan girl. Later, having acquired a few coins, some of them are able to obtain a few weapons of their own. They are dented, bent and more than a bit rusted but the children are proud of them.

Watching the group of urchins always banding together, Messick does a sending to Nat, the urchin who is currently in the clutches of the Xanathar Gang. Messick finds out that she has since been moved from the lair they had seen her in. Now she is deep underground and kept in some sort of ship, but not one that's in water.

To The Dock Ward

Deciding that Nat is safe for now the group heads off to find passage to the Purple Rocks.

They head towards the Dock Ward, in hopes of finding a ship they can commission to take them. Most of the sailors are in not in any mood to leave the warmth of pleasures of Waterdeep. Many of the ships are ice-locked but they do find a captain who has anchored his ship in the depths of Waterdeep's harbor. Tio Deepcleaver and his ship, The Broken Arrow, can be purchased. The price he asks is 3000 gold pieces. A hefty price. Not only that, but he quietly asks for a philter of love. He refuses to tell them what he needs it for but his price finally is agreed to. Finding all his sailors, though, may be difficult.

But together they parade from one tavern to the next offering free drink and soon The Broken Arrow has its full complement of crew.

Days of travel find the group for the most part below decks, away from the icy cold waters and spray. But soon enough there is a day when the sun is warm and the skies are clear. Captain Tio calls to the group to come up and see the string of islands in the distance.

They have arrived.

The UnWelcome Party

The captain orders a skiff lowered into the water and the group begins to row ashore.  Soon the waters churn and they are attacked on all sides by some sort of humanoid water creatures. The creatures continually try to pull them into the water, while a massive creature from the water's depths swims up to attack any of the group in the water.

Eventually, they fight off the attackers and are able to row the skiff to the shore and pull it up on the sandy shore. Ahead of them the dense foliage of a jungle. Sounds of insects and birds fill the air.

The group look around and then at each other. Now what?

The Lost Laboratory Of Kwalish

They move about, exploring the laboratory hidden inside a pocket dimension they discovered within a magical glass bauble. The focus quickly settles on the illithid, trapped inside a crystal cylinder. It is clearly alive, it's tentacles around it's mouth twitch and move, it's eyes follow the group. Thin silver threads attached to its head travel up out of the cylinder and snake along with other silver threads and glass tubing to a control panel.

The group scrutinize the control panel's many buttons and levers. Finally they settle on opening a large panel in the center of the console. They retreat in defense at the sight of a glowing demilich skull hovering within. But they relax when they realize that it is not attacking but instead trying to communicate. It is unable to speak but gestures to a series of buttons beside it on the console. After, hesitantly, pressing a couple of buttons, the skull is able to speak. It tells them that it is Kwalish.

Finding Kwalish

The skull isn't Kwalish. It has simply acquired a demilich skull and turned it to Kwalish's purpose of controlling the various parts of his laboratory. And now he uses it to communicate with them, since his unfortunate failed experiment into his own immortality. He tells them that ages ago he tried to prolong his life and transfer his consciousness into the suit of armor slumped in the corner. Unfortunately it didn't go as planned, the illithid he tortured to acquire obscure arcane knowledge, failed to tell him of a single necessary component. Now he finds himself trapped within the various and distributed equipment of his laboratory.

Azula, after a bit of experimentation with the control panel's instruments, finds the ability to torture the illithid, trapped within the crystal cylinder. She does this repeatedly until it seems she killed it. Fun over she returns to the group.

A Big Ask

Kwalish tells them all he needs is the life force of one, such as Fritz, who has the natural ability to morph his physical appearance. It wont kill him. It will just take some of his life essence. In return he will grant them what they have sought him out for. The energy key that they require to access the hidden vault deep below Waterdeep.

Fritz is hesitant.

The group brainstorms and finally they settle on convincing Kwalish to use another creature with the ability to polymorph. Azula will summon a quasit. Kwalish can use it's entire life essence. The face of the demilich skull is unreadable but eventually, Kwalish agrees to this.

Brains!

Azula finds the controls to open the crystal cylinder, to replace the illithid's body with that of a summoned quasit. Opening the cylinder release the mindflayer, it's body slumping to the floor, the silver threads breaking off of it as it collapses. Azula approaches it and realizes, a little too late, that the mindflayer is not dead. It uses this chance to attack and is able grab on to Azula, it's tentacles wrapping around her head as the mindflayers mouth begins to break through the drow's skull.

The others react quickly and the illithid is quickly killed. Azula, near death, is able to be healed.

Azula, finally feeling her normal self, summons the quasit and binds it to her. She makes the tiny demon dance about and finally dance into the cylinder. The silver threads attach to the happy demon and immediately, the laboratory's equipment surges in activity. The quasit screams, shudders and then burns to a pile of dust. It's life force completely consumed. Energy surges through the console and the glass tubing throughout the laboratory. Finally energy can be seen moving through the thin silver threads connecting the console to the massive suit of armor.

Kwalish's Rebirth

The armor shudders and jerks and then falls still. Then it's head slowly and deliberately moves as Kwalish tests his ability to control his new body. The suit of armor stands and speaks in Kwalish's voice, albeit with a more metallic and artificial predisposition. It thanks them. It reaches into a hidden panel below the control console and retrieves a large crystal of blue energy, Metal bands hold its edges into the shape of a elongated diamond. It tells them that this is the energy key they will need to enter the vault. The group tells him of the keys they already have and ask what is in the vault.

Kwalish has no knowledge of what the vault contains. He was commissioned to help construct the vault. He had been the one to build the locking mechanism and the one to memory wipe all the dwarves who were contracted to construct the vault, after its completion. But as to it's contents, he has no idea.

Need One More Key

He does tell them that they are missing the actual physical key. He last knew of Lord Neverember giving it to his wife Lady Brandarth to hold. He had seen it on her necklace when she set sail upon the Mordault. He doesn't know her destination but he was sure it was to secure the key in a secret location.

As the group prepares to leave the pocket dimension's laboratory, they ask if Kwalish has anything else that might be of use to him. After all, they have helped him complete his experiment and aided his transfer into the body of armor. He tells them sadly that no, the laboratory is only furnished with only what they see. Laboratory odds and ends.

After some mild threats and not so subtle hints at the fact that they know what bauble houses his laboratory and that glass baubles seem easy to break, Kwalish is able to find a treasure hoard of magical items and money that he offers to the group.

As they inspect their new booty, they find a large portal hidden beneath a tarp. Pulling off the tarp they see what appears to be a barren and desolate landscape, filled with bubbling pits of dark ooze and fiery mountains in the distance. Kwalish tells them that this is the Abyss. He has found the portal back upon the floating city. The demons there were trying to open the portal to the Abyss. So when he fled he made sure to take it.

Activity In The Abyss

He uses the portal to try and quietly capture small demons which he can easily overpower, and use their chaotic energy to power his laboratory. But through the portal he can see hints of activity happening in the Abyss. Demons by their vary nature are uncontrolled and have no direction. Only this has seemed to save the rest of the universe from their destruction. Their sheer insurmountable numbers, if used in a coordinated nature could easily overcome any of the planes defenses.

It would seem that a creature, a bronze dragon, named Quo'Queglic Sva Wer Marfedelom Di Lyriki, along with a tabaxi necromancer, has been rallying the demon forces to itself.

With that the group leaves the pocket dimension and returns to their apparatus. Before heading back to the apparatus' garage, they retrieve the bauble that they had entered, where they fought countless hooded figures. It seems useful, perhaps as a training ground. Returning the apparatus to its garage and retrieving both their belongings and Anaxie Zephries, they use the scroll of teleportation to return to the Mage's Guild within Waterdeep.

Before leaving, Anaxie begs the group to return to the floating city to see if they might be able to find his family and friends. If Kwalish survived, then perhaps they survived as well. The group tells him that he has no more money and that they have other priorities. He promises that he can get the money if only they would take the mission to rescue them, now that they know where they are.

But no amount of pleading or threatening can sway the group. Anaxie swears that he will find someone to aid him and leaves.

Back Home & Talking Of Demons

The group returns to the Trollskull Manor. They return to the normal bustling activity and delicious food smells of their familiar manor. Relaxing and catching up with their fellow members, the group is soon beset upon by a few members of the Trollskull gang, the collection of street urchins that have been sheltered by the Trollskull Champions Guild. They ask if the group has rescued Nat yet. Finding out their urchin leader is still in the hands of the Xanathar Guild, they ask when the group is going to rescue her.

The children are told that Nat is a priority, but one of many at the moment. Disappointed, the urchins storm off to plan.

As the members of the guild sit around the tables eating, drinking and sharing stories of their adventure, the possibility is brought up that the ooze filling the city and surrounding land, very well could be the influence of a demon lord, Juiblex.

Meanwhile, Messick feels pressed to return the amulet that was lent to him by the River King. He was told that he had 2 tenday to return it and it is almost time. He has taken the enchantment off of the amulet and transferred it to one of his own deity, but the River King was specific to returning only the amulet, not the enchanment. Hoping that he can lawyer the River King he returns to the elven crypt within the City Of The Dead.

Reentering the crypt and passing the hidden door, they move through the crypt to stand and the large pool of water. Its odd illumination coming from deep within. They speak to the River King and soon he emerges from within the pool to stand eye to eye as they stand upon the platform high above the pool.

Returning To The River King

Messick returns the amulet but the River King immediately senses the enchantment is removed. He demands both the amulet and Messick's totem of Lady Sirius, which now holds the enchantment. Messick warns the River King that Lady Sirius will not take this lightly and Azula, being Azula tosses in extra threats as well.

The River King's patience has worn short and both Messick's and Azula's lungs begin to fill with river water. They cough and sputter but are able to expel the fluid from their lungs. The River King's pool of water then begins to overflow faster and faster. It soon begins to spill over the platform high above the pool's original height. The group beings a fast retreat out of the crypt, save for Eda who stands her ground, defiantly staring at the River King. She has done no wrong.

She stands her ground, the River King and her staring at each other. The crypt quickly filling with water. Eda decides to flee. She mounts her flying broom and is only barely able to make it out of the crypt alive, flying along the ceiling, feet slicing along the top of the water filling the crypt.

They leave the crypt, Messick unsure of how his patron god will  take to this.

The City Of Daoine Gloine

After the collapse of the Monastery of the Distressed Body, those that survived scour the rubble for the bodies of any survivors. Eda, who survived the crash by entering the ethereal plane moves through the crushed rock, metal and crystal until she finds the body of Messick.

Messick has possibly survived. His body has petrified from the demons magical sword attack. Anaxie has survived in a small crawl space thanks to Messick casting death ward upon the gnome. Jay Harris, after finally trying to redeem himself has perished in the crash. The group begins the coordinated effort of excavating the ruins in order to recover Messick's body. Fritz and Angel have summoned several azer to help with the excavation. They finally recover Messick's body but decide to keep going in order to retrieve as much of the demon's weapons and gear as possible. They are able to retrieve the two demon henchmen who's swords are magical. One can potentially petrify someone, the other can polymorph a foe.

After they are able to restore Messick to life and they have rested the group moves on. They follow the notes from the journal of Kwalish hoping to find him in the city of Daoine Gloine, the fabled city to which Kwalish said has found as was fleeing to. Traveling through the mountains again they eventually reach the other side.

Daoine Gloine

They look down, from the mountainside, to see the ruins of a city below. The city of Daoine Gloine. The upper parts of the city are toppled towers and crumbled buildings. But below a shimmering layer the rest of the city is clean and pristine. Below this line, there is no vegetation. Whereas above vines and other greenery slowly erode the city's infrastructure. After come experimentation they realize the whole city is filled with some sort of transparent ooze which quickly eats most organic matter, perhaps even some metal. Peaking out above the ooze are several buildings, so the group decides to investigate one.

They fly and land upon a glass topped temple. But as they move across it's roof they realize that the glass is really glass statues of people layered together, some broken in order to produce a good seal all around the roof of the building. Choosing one of the statues to carefully shatter they are able to see inside. Looking through they see below a vast open temple. Its floor littered with glass fragments of other statues and debris, giving the impression that the temple has not been used in a very long time. They carefully descend through the opening they have made in the ceiling.

The Tomb Of The Medusa

Inside they discover a gorgon. It is dead but someone has resurrected it into an undead abomination. It hisses at the intruders, clearly insane. Making sure to avoid it's gaze they are able to defeat the massive creature. Moving through the temple, the group finds various creatures, all turned to glass, apparently from the gaze of the gorgon. It would seem creatures were bound here to the walls, awaiting the gorgon to turn them to crystal statues. Whether as a sacrifice in honor or in appeasement it is unclear.

They eventually find a portal which leads to a large chamber. The chamber is dark save for a worktable cluttered with blueprints, tools and a great assortment of gears, screws and various unknown items. In the middle of the room, is a giant metal crab-like vehicle, suspended by chains above an opening in the floor with, what the group figures out, is more of the dangerous ooze-like substance.

They spend time in the garage, inspecting blueprints, collecting odds and ends and, eventually, inspecting the vehicle suspended from the chains. During their rest there, several crystal-like creatures emerge from the ooze, below the suspended vehicle, and attack the group. Acting on an instinct, Messick asks the creatures to halt their attack. They are friends and they are here to meet with Kwalish. There are here at the behest of Anaxie Zephries.  The crystal creatures stop attacking and are able to communicate with the group using a rough gestures. After resting they decide they will take the crab-like vehicle, an giant apparatus of Kwalish, to descend into, and through, the ooze.

The Apparatus Of Kwalish

Fritz, after studying the blueprints he found for the apparatus, is a capable driver. He steers the vehicle through the ooze. Everyone looking through the various ports to see the city from within the ooze. Whole street scenes are setup with crystal statues of people posed in an assorted collection of dioramas. There is a street market with sellers silently hawking their wares. A group of children, their statues broken and refashioned to make it seem that they are playing football. The round crystal ball the the motionless, children seem to vying for seems to refract the sunlight differently than the crystal of the children. Sunlight passing through it seems to shatter into an odd rainbow.

The Danger Room

Using the vehicles controls, they find they can extend an articulated thin snake-like device which can attack to things outside the vehicle. Once the device connects with the football, the entire group is enveloped in a bright light. When the light quickly fades, they find themselves in a dark ruin. Walls crumbled and doorways littered with rubbled. They can see that the vast ruins are in fact, populated by dark figures moving quietly and quickly in the shadows.

The group quickly discovers that the dark figures are a threat. The black robed figures each run to chests situated throughout the ruins, once opened, they pull out various items. Some pull out scrolls, some weapons. Then they use them on the group. The adventurers quickly take cover and try to keep the enemies at bay but they quickly discover that the items the enemies retrieve from the chests are devastating effective. The enemies scrolls keep healing them, while other scrolls sends a swarm of meteors descending down upon their heads.

The adventurers finally decide to go for the chests themselves and are able to beat back the enemy. And as the last enemy falls, with a flash of white light, they find themselves back inside the vehicle.

The vehicle was able to connect them to the pocket dimension hidden in the crystal bauble. As they move through the city of ooze, they keep their eyes open for the baubles that have the same rainbow refraction, which were previously scouted out by Angel, as she flew across the city.

Clockwork Kraken

They surface, unsure as to how long the air lasts in such a device and unsure how long they were inside the pocket dimension. Opening the rear hatch to let in fresh air, they catch a glimpse of a massive creature moving through the ooze. It flashes across the street only to disappear into the street across. They quickly close the hatch, descend and quickly bring the vehicle to full speed. As the chase progresses, they are able to make out more of the creature. It appears to be a massive water creature, squid-like in appearance but made out of metal and crystal. It easily begins to outmaneuver the group in their vehicle. They speed down a street only to see that the street ends at the edge of the ooze, the mountainside looming quickly ahead.

Fritz panics and pulls back on the controls but not in time to avoid the sloping rocks ahead. Fortunately, the creature is amphibious, its swimming motion turning smoothly into a sprawling crawl along the rocks. They are able to turn the vehicle around hoping the clockwork kraken is not also amphibious. They see the creature approach and Azula banishes the kraken.

They decide to investigate a bauble seen outside a building, seemingly guarded by a few of the crystal-like creatures they have already encountered. After a bit of investigation and maneuvering of the vehicle they position the vehicle's rear hatch against the hatch embedded in the door of what seems like a glass blowing shop. Once in position they are able to open the vehicle's hatch as well as the building's hatch.

Entering the building it would seem it has been sealed off from the ooze surrounding the city. Inside it is dry and warm. Various crystal people stand motionless in a parody of the busyness of a glass blowing shop in full swing. One crystal statue, holds and inspects a large beautiful bauble, which gives off a rainbow refraction.

They touch it and are instantly transported into it's pocket dimension.

The Lost Laboratory Of Kwalish

The find themselves standing in a room filled with various magical implements, bubbling liquids moving through intestinally-shaped glass tubing. One side of the room is occupied with control panes. Another part of the room is filled with large canisters filled with what appear to be beating hearts. In the center of one wall, stands are large crystal cylinder, inside of which stands an illithid. A mind-flayer. And finally, in the corner of the room slumps a massive suit of armor.

But there seems to be no Kwalish.

The Monastery Of The Distressed Body

The adventurers look down into the vast caldera, in the middle of which floats an entire city, held aloft by several powerful engines. Below them on the cliff's edge, is a large metal platform jutting out of the mountain side. The group carefully descends and finally stands upon it looking out over the expanse towards the city. Large spires of metallic crystal thrust upwards to great heights while other smaller squat buildings dot the roughly circular city. Beneath, engines spewing bright orange flame roar keeping the city from crashing down below the clouds filling the caldera.

As the group stands upon the platform they see a creature flying across the gap from the city. As it approaches they can see it is some sort of sphinx-like creature. When it lands at the end of the platform it addresses them. It tells them that in order to cross to the city they must prove themselves worthy. The sphinx's body is a mass of ancient injuries that seem to have been mended using mechanical and metallic components. It's eyes no longer natural but from within their sockets emanates a bluish glow. Around it's head float a number of spinning metallic devices.

Riddles Of The Sphinx

It tells them that over the centuries it has amassed a vast knowledge of the world and craves to challenge its intellectual powers. It asks that each of the party pose it a riddle that it cannot answer or they can answer one that the sphinx poses. Surprisingly, Messick stands forward and poses a riddle that the group immediately knows the answer to...only because they know of his recent injury to his genitals. This somehow impresses the sphinx and Messick is allowed to step forward. One by one, each of the group is able to answer the sphinx's riddles and the creature somehow is able to summon a ferry which glides up towards the platform.

The ferry is guided by a tall hooded figure and the group is silent as they see the city loom closer and closer as the ferry finally docks with a similar platform from the one they departed from. As they disembark, a few hooded figures approach and ask if they wish to come meet the Grandmaster. The group declines, saying they wish to look around first. The hooded figures seem to accept this answer with, "All who come here, find their way to the Grandmaster....eventually."

No Past, No Crimes

The group explores the floating city, eventually coming to what would seem the barracks for those that live here. A few monks are here eating but leave soon after the group enters, all except for one. An elderly man who is missing a leg, a stump taking its place and horrible scars covering his face. He introduces himself as Axel. He inquires as to what kinds of crimes the group is leaving behind. All who come here are here to gain a fresh start. "No Past. No  Crimes."

The group makes vague statements until they can distract him as they begin to experiment with the odd looking panels on the walls. An unknown script appears on the device and has variously colored buttons. They find that pressing certain combinations will bring about sweet drink and delicious food. But just as often as not, some of the group abuse the wondrous device until flames begin shooting out from behind the panel until several devices embedded in the ceiling begin to release water dowsing the flames and flooding the room.

They decide to leave.

Meeting The Grandmaster

They finally find there way to the largest building situated in the of the floating city. It towering doors open to vast citadel. Its long central abbey leading up to a dais, behind which is an enormous stained glass window. Its multi-hued light illuminating the creature sitting upon an odd throne upon the dais. The Grandmaster looks to be massive demon sitting upon a chair, out of which various wires and conduits trail out and connect to various stations and panels around the abbey. The Grandmaster is flanked nearby by two other smaller demons.

The Grandmaster rises from his throne, the floor shuddering with each of his massive footfalls. He stands a good 6 feet above even the massive Messick. It is then he welcomes his new guests to his temple....in a most inconsistent voice. His voice is small and slightly effeminate. He is so excited that they are here. But it seems he is most displeased about having a group of fully armed adventurers enter his abbey without anyone stopping them or removing their weapons. He gestures to one of the hooded monks and beckons them forward. With a single swipe of his fingers the monk is decapitated and two of the other monks quickly remove the body. It is then the group sees that it looks like several broken pieces of a sword have been somehow melded to the demons own claws.

The Grandmaster gives the group a choice of either offering their strength to the city or their intellect. Either way he will ask for a service of 1 year. If they can  do that they can share in the glory of their city and their eventual dominance of the world and its riches.

The group makes a series of excuses and begs that the Grandmaster give them a while to decide. With an indifferent shrug, he allows it. After all, where can they go. All submit to the will of the Grandmaster eventually.

Leaving they continue to explore the city.

The Leatherworks & Jay Harris

They discover an entrance to a underground area. The stairs leading down are metal with long perforated slots. The corridor beneath is of the same metal, slots allowing for both grip and drainage of any water. The corridor is sporadically lit by softly glowing orbs embedded into the walls. The creation of such a city is beyond what any of the group have ever seen. Immediately, they hear muffled screams of pain. The carefully follow the sounds, Azula's demon going ahead while still invisible. In a large open metal room, they find a group of figures standing around a smooth metal table. There are several of these tables within the room. They are shaped such that fluids collect along the edges are are directed to a drain at the end. On the table that is surrounded by 4 creatures there is a human male. He is strapped down with a gag in his mouth.

It is Jay Harris. The Jay Harris that had betrayed the convoy that the group was hired to protect all those many months ago. He had tried to kidnap one of the members of the convoy, Lady Mara. But his plans were foiled and he had fled. And here he is. The creatures surrounding him cutting into his flesh with tiny but incredibly sharp knives. Along one side of the room lay various patches of flesh. Each from a different body section and some are stitched together in the beginnings of a suit of flesh.

The creatures surrounding him where head to toe coverings. The original color long ago lost to the many layers of blood and gore covering them. Over their eyes are odd looking goggles. It is easy work to kill all of them. Once it is just the group and Jay Harris, they confront him as he is still strapped to the table.

They use zone of truth upon him and find that he truly wishes to restart his life. He has been a horrible person. He thought this was his chance to start over again. Back in Waterdeep he was going to be sentenced to death but a guard saved his life. He told Jay to head to these mountains and gave him secret passageways and keywords to come here. He told him that he would have a fresh new wonderful life once he got here. But this is not what he wished for. Each member of this cult must surrender more and more of their flesh, as well as their labor to the horrific demon in order to remain alive. He will do whatever the group asks of him.

They decide to free him.

Looking around the room they find that the goggles that the foul cultist were wearing are incredible devices. Fritz cannot determine their magic but they seem to be able to change your vision to focus on either the incredibly tiny or the very far  away. The script that seems to float in your vision is indecipherable. Off in the corner of the room they find a completed leather golem armor. If Jay Harris is to be able to make it out of here alive, he will need some protection. They allow him to don the golem armor. Jay Harris immediately loves his new found strength.

The Engine Room

That is when they hear someone coming. All are prepared for a fight but it is simply the aged Axel come looking for them. He tells them that they are perfectly suited for the contribution of strength to the city. He tells them to follow him.

Leaving the underground facility he leads them to a large fortified structure. Inside are massive engines that are being tended to by tired and sweaty individuals. Trudging back and forth from a pile of scrap metal and other materials, likely scavenged from around the structures of the city, as many structures seemed cannibalized. They throw all of the material into the fiery hot engines. Axel tells them that the monks here have the honor of keeping the city aloft.

After a bit of looking around, the group finds panels with a multitude of buttons and displays of incomprehensible script. They eventually ask that the modron, Gear-Box, try to make sense of it. A small metal arm extrudes out of Gear-box's body which connects to a hidden slot in the panel. Gear-box immediately begins telling them of various states of the city. The facts are mostly relating to the state of the engines and other infrastructure information. They ask Gear-box if they have access to engine control. With that, for a moment each of the group thinks themselves deaf, as silence crashes down around them as the constant roar of the engines immediately stops.

The ground underneath their feet begins to slant and they tell Gear-box to restart the engines. He does so and the floor rights itself.

They make note of this important skill of Gear-box.

Off To Prison

As they leave the engine room they can see a very large group of monks approaching, along with the two demons who they saw with the Grandmaster. They prepare to fight, but Azula decides to approach the mob.

They are immediately arrested.

Finding themselves imprisoned in separate cells, the doors some sort of force barrier. Azula is able to magically kill the guards only to raise them as zombies. Commanding the zombies to access the controls to allow the group to exit their cells.

They leave the prison and head to the back of the floating city. They have heard that there is a treasury where all the magical items and money that individuals have brought here have been collected. They come to the edge of the city and across an expanse of open air there floats another small island upon which sits a sturdy structure. The treasury.

It would seem the path to get there are several floating disks, each floating apart from each other by various distances. Some short hops, others longer jumps.

This does not concern the group though. They have ways of flying, either magically or physically. But as Messick approaches with only 20 or 30 feet left to fly, the magic of the fly spell instantly disappears. He plummets down below the floating bridge and into the clouds. But before he can hit the ground far below a circular ring flies towards him at high speed and at the last second it rotates, Messick's body passing through the ring and he finds himself back in the prison cell.

As Messick is getting his bearings, with a sharp popping sound Eda shows up in a prison cell as well. A victim of the anti-magic field surrounding the treasury. The zombies are command to release them and they leave to try again.

The Treasury

It takes a couple of tries, the zombies releasing the one who failed to get across but eventually they find success in flying and giving themselves a collision trajectory into the closed door of the treasury.

Once inside, they find a plethora of items both magical and technological. They find the notes left behind by the wizard Kwalish and they find a large cylindrical canister filled with a greenish fluid. Inside floats a brain. After a bit of experimentation, they find they can communicate with the brain and it tells them that it is the Grandmaster. Somehow a small and vile demon was able to use some of Kwalish's magic to remove his brain from its body and is somehow now in control of his body.

He will give the group whatever they wish, if they are able to return him to his body. They take the canister, unsure of what they might do.

Returning to the engine room, with plans of destroying the floating island city, they are met by the Grandmaster and his two henchdemons. After only seconds of fighting it might seem the group is not guaranteed to make it out of this alive. Azula yells to Gear-Box. "Now!"

Gear-box responds to the vague command, "Now?"

Now

Azula commands Gear-box to cut power to the engines. The silence slams down once again and everyone in the room slowly floats up as the city begins to plummet towards the ground. The fight is awkward in the city's descent. Messick finds that the two smaller demons each wield a magical sword. The group yells at Gear-Box to restart the engines, but Gear-Box is unsure if the engines will restart with enough time and force in order to avoid a collision with the ground below.

Seconds pass and it looks as if the city is destined to crash into the ground below, with them inside it. Each prepares. Eda takes a second to dowse herself in oil of etherealness, Messick and Azula have death ward and the others scramble for protection. Messick grabs a hold of Anaxie, shielding him with his body.

The impact of the city into the ground, shatters the city and it crumbles into the caldera below.

To The Barrier Peaks

Together with Anaxie Xephries, the gnome cartographer, and his modron assistant, Gear-Box, the group travels out of the city towards the Star Mounts, where Anaxie believes the fabled Barrier Peaks hide the city of legend, Daoine Gloine.

As they travel, Anaxie tells them of the wonders of the fabled city. There, it is said, that the city is peopled with creatures of crystal. They have discovered and energy source beyond the comprehension of even the greatest wizards. In fact, one of the greatest wizards of the land was said to have traveled there in order to learn of the city's secrets.

Years ago, Anaxie funded an expedition there but no one had ever returned.

Roadkill

The weeks of travel pass as each of the group spends their days in various personal quiet tasks. Eda spends her days in the wizard's usual scholarly endeavors of transcription. Fritz spends hours manipulating the puzzle box which he had found in among the belongings of Lady Mara's demon. The puzzle box slowly opening and elongating. As its form opens and changes Fritz is able to get a sense of its magic more and more. It seems to be some sort of conjuration magic. Perhaps some sort of teleportation magic.

Azula amuses herself by summoning her balor demon. Sending it out to scout ahead, making sure it is restrained from killing anything that does not present a threat. As the carts, they travel on, roll through the quiet wilderness, they find all sorts of woodland creatures impaled, eviscerated, dismembered and otherwise killed in a dozen different ways along the way. Azula calls her demon back and demands why all these harmless creatures have been killed. The demon points to each of its kills and tells her, "That one looked suspicious." "That one was going to pounce...well not one me, no. But it was going to pounce." "That little bunny rabbit looks harmless, but I think it was rabid.". And on and on.

After days of travelling through mostly flat plains, dotted with patches of light forest, the land changes. Now it is rough with massive boulders strewn about and a forest covering what seems to be steep foot hills as the Star Mounts loom over them only a couple days ahead.

The group has to leave the horses and carts behind as the forest trails become too thick, even for single riders. Untethering the horses and letting them go, the group pushes forward.

A Foul Forest

The land soon turns dark. The ground soft and mushy and the trees stunted and leafless. A constant thin fog fills the air. Messick runs ahead and is soon stuck in the soft ground. A slick oily dark ooze covers his legs up to his knees. Even when he is able to pull his legs out and return to the others the ooze remains on his legs. In fact it continues to travel up his body and he begins to hear the murmuring of voices within his head. He cannot understand the voices but they drive him to distraction.

All the others notice is Messick acting a little more unusual than he usually does. Fritz decides to use prestidigitation to remove the ooze off of him. The spell usually dissipates any foulness off of whatever it clings to. This time the ooze more retreats than dissipates. The ooze crawls back down Messick's legs and seeps back into the ground.

They find this very odd.

Ooze Tainted Beetles

Soon the silence of the foul woods is broken by the distant sound of cracking wood. Immediately after the air is filled with a faint buzzing sound which steadily grows. The sound grows until they finally notice a rainbow hued swarm flying through the air towards them. The swarm turns out to be a vast multitude of beetle like insects. As they fly, light reflecting off of their collective wings, produces a rainbow hue that flashes in the eyes of the group. Angel, Fritz's giant eagle companion, looses any thoughts other than to peacefully fly. She flies without a care in the world. At peace. Leaving the rest of them to fend for themselves.

The others battle while often becoming stunned by the mystical lights reflecting off the beetles carapaces and wings. But eventually they overcome leaving a carpet of blackened and charred insect bodies littered on the ground. They inspect a couple of the insects. They seem like regular beetles but they are covered in a sheen of the foul ooze that Messick encountered.

The ooze softening the ground makes the group nervous to traverse the area. Angel is sent to scout around and tells the group that the ooze seems to surround the entire mountainside. They decide to fly over the ooze-filled forest.

They come to rest at the base of the mountain and begin to climb. Soon they face a choice of entering a darkened cave or continue climbing up and over the mountain entirely. Debates rage. Entering a dark and forbidding unknown cave versus a hazardous high altitude mountain climb without equipment. They enter the cave.

Through Rather Than Over The Mountain

They travel through the winding tunnel inside the mountain. The tunnel seems to go on and on. After hours of travel they decide to rest. A few of them take their turns taking watch. During the groups rest, Angel notices an odd creature.

When the group awakens, Angel tells them that she saw a large rock-like creature passing through the walls of the tunnel. It closed up one section of the tunnel only to create a new tunnel with the simple passing of it's hands over the rock.

A few of the group rush forward to try to catch up whatever is creating tunnels, which it seems its doing to either capture the group or keep them from travelling through the mountain to the other side. Eventually Angel sees a large rock elemental creature forming new tunnels. Its arms moving in huge swaths, moving rock as easily as one might pass through water. Angel summons several mephits that surround the creature.

The mephit's attacks seem to do little damage to the massive creature as it is able to slam the creatures with its massive fists, instantly killing them.

As the others catch up and ready themselves for battle, Messick calls to the creature and asks why it's trying to keep them from travelling through the mountain. It tells them that it is protecting them from what's on the other side. Demons.

The group decides to stand down from the fight as they converse with the elemental creature. It is a galeb durh, named Frostwind. It seems it has decided to stop people from travelling through the mountain after a wizard, Kwalish, has asked that it aid the wizard in stopping the ever growing cult which worships a demon from growing. Despite its efforts some make it to the demon but it has watched this group and decided that they don't deserve to die at the hands of the demon.

They convince Frostwind that they are here to stop the demon, as this seems just one more part of a larger demon incursion into this world. Frostwind decides to help them. He turns and begins to form the tunnel in front of him and soon they emerge on the other side of the mountain.

They look down into a massive caldera or crater. Its bottom so deep it is obscured by clouds. In the middle is a city sized structure made of rock, metal and crystal. Underneath the structure are massive roaring engines blasting fire seemingly keeping the structure aloft, hovering above the clouds.

Inside the Lair Of The Xanathar

After convincing the Xanathar, the beholder crime lord, that Draak is a poor lieutenant and that it is much better off without the half-dragon, the Xanathar disintegrates Draak. With that the Xanathar uses its telekinetic ray from one of its eye stalks and picks up the young scared girl, Nat. Together they rise up into the air, until they are no longer visible, lost in the tremendous height of the chamber.

The group ponders what to do, while several svirfneblin move about cleaning up. One svirfneblin, approaches to being to sweep up the remains of the half-dragon, now a pile of ash. The group decides to investigate the corridor from which Draak had emerged with Nat as his hostage. Moving down the corridor the darkened hallway begins to lighten with an odd greenish glow. Many small glowing motes of dust-like particles float in the air. The group enters a room lit by the countless floating green glowing flecks. A large mirror occupies one side of the room, a large brazier burns an odd looking plant material which seems to be producing the green glowing motes, and a massive aquarium sits in the middle of the room.

Sylgar The 'Ancient' Goldfish

As the group looks around the room, a sour looking svirfneblin enters the room. He is pushing a cart with a large glass bowl, filled with water and a single large goldfish. He begins to transfer the goldfish back into its aquarium. As the group is discussing the safety of Nat, one of them brings up the statement that the Xanathar made that his goldfish is 158 years old. A little unbelievable for a goldfish. With that the svirfneblin makes a face and snorts. The group questions the deep gnome and it's found out that the goldfish, Silgar, is replaced often. The Xanathar never seems to notice that his prized goldfish is very often a slightly different in size, shape, color or fin shape. In order to save themselves from disintegration, the svirfneblin have for decades kept up this conspiracy to keep the truth from the Xanathar.

This does not put the adventurers at ease.

While they talk with Thulwar, the svirfneblin, a strangness begins to grow within some of the group. The odd glowing particles in the air turn out to be fungus from the underdark, carrying with it faerzress, the madness of the underdark. Fritz slowly begins showing signs of being paranoid and untrusting of the others. This makes progress difficult so Azula and Messick work together to covertly heal Fritz of his madness. Once the group begins ascending through the steep, and at times vertical, shaft which leads out of the chamber, they use the confines of the shaft to restore Fritz to his normal self.

Kobold Mess Hall

Emerging from the shaft they find themselves in a corridor. This corridor is less polished and decorative than the previous areas. This is because this area is more for the servants area, which they discover as they move forward until they find a large room filled with kobolds gathered together eating. The air is filled with a disgusting smell and the noisy group falls silent as the group enters the room. The adventurers are able to convince the multitude of kobolds that they are here at the behest of the Xanathar and they move through the room and enter the kitchen area. There they encounter a chaotic buzz of activity, as several sweaty kobolds rush about cooking meals for the hoard of kobolds in the outer room.

Floating in the corner of the room is a creature, looking like a developmentally retarded beholder. Its body a pale white and its stalks bent and crooked. It floats silently ever watching. After aiding the kobolds in making and serving a more delicious meal, the group continues on.

They find a room with several tall fluid filled cylinders lined up in the middle of the room. Inside of each floats what seem to be the remains of beholders. Lining the room are several alcoves. Each alcove presents a small mural, which when put together, seem to tell the story of a beholder entering Waterdeep and over time becoming the leader of a large organization. It also tells the story of the beholders life cycle of each beholder begetting another beholder, which in time kills the previous one, preserving it and carrying on the legacy of the organization.

Clearly, the Xanthar has been many iterations of different beholders over the centuries. Each seems to hold some reverence for the previous ones, preserving their bodies here in this crypt.

The group finds a secret door behind one of the alcoves. There inside is a statue of a wizard. The wizard is posed, seemingly mid speech. The group doesn't recognize the likeness but they suspect that it probably is someone the Xanathar has petrified. Someone who the Xanathar holds in some regard, as it has put the statue here, hidden away.

Deciding to perform the costly spell Greater Restoration to un-petrify the wizard. Returning to life, the wizard continues with his speech, warning the Xanathar of the consequences of uncurring the wrath of Delphin the wizard! His speech halts as he realizes what has happened. With a groan, he looks the others surrounding him, and asks, knowling, "It petrified me, right?"

The others just nod.

He looks at the group and tells them he is going to leave, and invites them to join him if they wish. They tell him to hold on. They just have to do one thing.

They return to the kobold kitchen and attack the gazer. The kobolds cower in fear, not wanting to join the fray. Soon gazer is dead and Fritz cuts off what the group decides is the telekinetic eye stalk. They agree that this should do for one of the required keys to the secret vault under Waterdeep.

They return to Delphin and together they teleport back to the Mage's Guild in Waterdeep. Delphin is welcomed back, noting his lengthy absence. Delphin thanks the group and tells them that he must return to Daggerford. The group slightly summarizes what has been going on in Daggerford: the demon incursion into the city; the demon attack upon his tower. They leave out any particular stories of them wrecking or looting his tower.

With that Delphin leaves through one of the several teleportation circles in the Mage's Guild.

The group returns back to their Trollskull Manor.

The Frog Army

Life returns to normal for a bit. Until one foggy morning, one of the Trollskull gang, the ragtag group of orphans who have taken residence in the building behind the Trollskull Manor, runs into the manor and calls out to the kids who are eating breakfast there to come and see the frog army! It seems that near the Dock Ward there are hundreds of frogs that are hopping down the city streets.

Excited the urchins run out and down towards the Dock Ward. Some of the adventurers eating in the Trollskull Manor decide to follow. Who knows what trouble the kids will get into.

In the fog filled streets the group can hear the excited squeals of the Trollskull Gang as well as dozens of other children who have undoubtedly come to see what look to be dozens of huge frogs jumping down the street. The frogs seem to try to split up and enter as many houses as they can.

That is when they begin to hear the screams of fear and pain from within the households.

The group soon discovers that the frogs are really quasits in disguise and they are taking children. The group splits up and are able to easily deal with the small demons but there are so many of them. At least a few children have been taken as the group calls to their Trollskull urchins to make sure they are all accounted for.

They try to track the missing children but the fog and prevents any easy tracking. By now the city guard are arriving and a few inconsolable parents are merging in the street.

The group returns to their manor.

Anaxie Zephries Awaits Departure

There they find, Anaxie Zephries, the gnome cartographer who has hired the group to escort him to the Barrier Peaks, in search of his family and the fabled city of Daoine Gloine. Legend has it, the city is populated with people of crystal and is powered by a mysterious force unlike any found elsewhere in Faerun.

The adventurers look to each other and with a collective shrug, agree and head off to prepare.